1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to flooring systems and, more specifically, to a flooring system for interlocking flooring units.
2. Description of the Related Art
Luxury vinyl tile (LVT) flooring units are increasingly used in high end flooring applications. Such flooring units, while made of vinyl, often have a texture and color corresponding to other flooring materials, such as ceramic tiles and wood. They are frequently (but not always) less expensive than the floorings materials they resemble. They also tend to be lighter and easier to install that other flooring materials and often are more resistant to scuffs and stains.
LVT units typically have complementary locking surfaces on their edges so that adjacent units are locked to each other along their edges. Most installers of LVT units place an underlayment between the subfloor and the flooring units. This underlayment improves the acoustics and feel of the flooring units by absorbing movement between the flooring units and the floor substrate as users walk across the surface of the flooring units.
Typical underlayments tend to be resilient, which allows for dampening of the effects of people walking on the floor. However, because the underlayments do not provide adequate support for the locking surfaces of the flooring units, the locking surfaces along the edge of a flooring unit tend to be weaker than the rest of the flooring unit. Therefore, when one's heel, or other pressure source, is applied to the locking joint between two flooring units, the locking surfaces become weakened due to the resilience of the underlayment. Through enough use, the locking surfaces can become degraded and even break.
Therefore, there is a need for a flooring system with an underlayment that reduces stress on the locking surfaces of LVT flooring units while providing adequate sound dampening.